October 12, 2008

Tamil Nadu plans 7 minor ports

BL reported that Tamil Nadu government is planning to set up a chain of 7 minor ports to catalyze industrial development across the state.

Addressing the CII TN Vision Summit, Mr Arcot N Veeraswamy state electricity minister said that the state government has initiated the process of bringing in private investments for the minor ports, which are to come up at Cheyyur, Marakannam, Manappad, Thirukuvallai, Cuddalore, Thirukadaiyur and Ennore, where the cabinet has approved L&T’s project to set up an INR 1,200 crore ship building and port project.

Mr Veeraswamy said that minor ports are a key infrastructure in the context of the massive investments planned in power generation capacities. Most of the power plants would depend on coal imported from Indonesia and Australia and an extensive port infrastructure would facilitate such investments.

The TN Vision Summit organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry was to release a vision report for Tamil Nadu in 2025.